Family camps at River Yala for three weeks searching for drowned relative
Nyanza
By
Isaiah Gwengi
| Jun 25, 2025
Johannes Okinyo, father of 21-year-old James Ochieng, who drowned while crossing River Yala in Ndiwo village on May 24, 2025. [Isaiah Gwengi, Standard]
Under a tent by the banks of the River Yala, a family sits in silent vigil, eyes red from sleepless nights and hearts heavy with anguish.
For more than three weeks now, as dusk falls every day on the banks of the river, the murmurs of prayer rise once more. A father stands watch as a mother wipes away her tears.
Since May 24, they have camped at this spot in Ndiwo village, Usigu sub-county, hoping the restless waters will give back the body of their 21-year-old son, James Ochieng.
Ochieng drowned on a Saturday evening as he attempted to cross the swollen river to bring cattle home from the other side, a routine chore turned fatal in the absence of a bridge.
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His father, Johannes Okinyo, speaks in a weary voice, each word bearing the weight of a parent’s pain.
“We can’t bury a banana trunk and call it our son,” he says, referencing a traditional rite where families, after days of fruitless search, bury a banana stalk in place of a missing body to lay their loved one to rest symbolically.
He explained that this would be like denying his existence, hoping that his body would be found.
The family has refused to let go, not just emotionally, but physically. For days on end, they have braved the biting cold, huddled in makeshift shelters along the riverbank. With each sunrise, hope flickers anew. But as the sun sets, despair returns like a shadow.
“We’ve been here since May 24, as people come and go, but my wife and I have not moved. This is where our son was taken. We will not leave until we find him," Okinyo told The Standard.
Residents say Ochieng's death is not an isolated tragedy but part of a grim pattern.
“There used to be a footbridge here, but it collapsed more than five months ago and claimed a life. Since then, we’ve been forced to use small canoes to cross. It’s risky, especially during the rains,” says Oliver Odongo, a resident.
Odongo recalls that Governor James Orengo had promised to construct a new bridge during a visit. But to date, nothing has materialized.
“There’s a limit to how many times a community can mourn. This bridge is not a luxury; it’s a necessity,” adds John Tajah, another villager.
The search has taken a financial and emotional toll on the family.
Although the area MCA Francis Otiato provided a wooden motor boat to assist, the family is forced to spend Sh2,000 daily on fuel, in addition to paying the boat operator.
They also feed the volunteer searchers, who risk their lives diving into murky, fast-flowing waters with no proper gear or training.
For Okinyo's family, closure remains elusive. Without a body, without a burial, grief becomes a limbo.
“We are Christians, but we also respect our culture. And our culture tells us that a person must be returned to the earth with dignity, not with a stalk of banana," says Ochieng's mother.